Over 1.4m South West Trains passengers could be eligible for compensation

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

From the Independent, via MSN

Train passengers who can prove they held a valid London Travelcard between 2015 and 2017 could be entitled to up to £100 each in a multi-million-pound settlement with Stagecoach South West Trains (SSWT).

More than 1.4 million commuters who travelled on mainline trains towards Waterloo were overcharged for tickets by former network operators SSWT during the two years.

A lawsuit alleged that customers with London Travelcards were not offered cheaper ‘boundary fare’ tickets when travelling inside London’s fare zones.

These tickets were not advertised on automated ticket terminals in stations and this meant Travelcard holding rail passengers effectively paid twice to travel within the capital and on to destinations outside the zones.
In the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)’s largest class action payout in history, Stagecoach South Western Trains has settled the legal case for £25 million to compensate overcharged customers.

According to the solicitor representing passengers Justin Gutmann, those eligible will be able to seek up to £100 each for qualifying journeys made after 1 October 2015.

A spokesperson for Woodsford Litigation Funding, who brought the claims against SSWT, said: “This is the largest settlement in the history of the collective proceedings regime in the UK.”

“Now that the settlement has been approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, a scheme will be set up to allow class members to submit a claim for redress.”

A The Boundary Fares Claims website will help possible claimants register for updates on the progress of the rebates. The official six-month claim period for passengers will start on 10 July and close on 10 January 2025.

The SSWT did not admit to any legal liability for wrongdoing in the settlement.

A Stagecoach Group spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved the collective settlement that we have agreed with the claimant in this long-running case related to historic matters.”

[ChrisB]

And now one can claim a share....

From Daily Mirror, via MSN

1.4million train customers owed share of £25milllion compensation - how to claim

More than one million train customers who were overcharged are now owed a share of £25million after a legal settlement was agreed.

You could be owed money if you're a Transport for London (TfL^» (Transport for London - about)) travelcard holder who travelled on Stagecoach South Western Trains (SSWT) between October 1, 2015 and August 20, 2017. The lawsuit argued that SSWT overcharged rail passengers by not making "boundary fares" sufficiently available to customers who also bought TfL Travelcards.

Boundary fares allow rail passengers to travel beyond the zones covered by their travelcard to their final destination without paying twice for the part of their journey already covered by their travelcard. But consumer champion Justin Gutmann claimed these cheaper fares are "not easily available online" and "rarely offered at a ticket office" meaning customers were overcharged. Around 1.4million customers are now owed compensation.
In order to be entitled to compensation, you must have held a valid Travelcard for within one or several TfL fare zones, and the rail fare in question was valid for travel in whole or in part on SSWT services, with the journey originating from a station within your Travelcard zones to a destination beyond the boundary of those zones.

You also must have been a resident in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2021 and April 30, 2024. You can claim for yourself or for someone you bought tickets for. The settlement between Mr Gutmann and SSWT was approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in May, with SSWT agreeing to the settlement without any admission of liability. It does not include a similar claim against First MTR South Western Trains Limited.

The £25million settlement has been divided into three pots. The first pot has allocated £19million and for this one, you must show evidence of all your journeys. The average claim size is £32.17 but some travellers who made multiple journey could be owed far more than this.

The second pot is worth £4million and you must show proof of purchase of a relevant TfL travelcard or relevant fare. The highest level of compensation here is £100. The third and final pot has an allocation of £2million and you must show proof of residence and a signed statement of truth. For this, the compensation is worth up to £30. If you think you're entitled to compensation, you can put in a claim through the Boundary Fares Claim website by January 10, 2025. Putting in a claim is free to do.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Wow!   That is a shocking indictment of the current (historic?) UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail fares system. 

You also must have been a resident in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2021 and April 30, 2024.

Well, I was that - but I have no other grounds for making any such claim.

However, I will now keep documentary evidence of every single train ticket I buy, just in case a similar issue arises in the future.

Her indoors, who has always criticised me as a hoarder, will be incensed. 

CfN. 

[grahame]

However, I will now keep documentary evidence of every single train ticket I buy, just in case a similar issue arises in the future.

Tempting - I am still incensed that the government told me NOT to travel in the middle of doing a FOSS^▸ (Freedom of Severn & Solent Rover) Rover in March 2020 and would not offer a proportional refund.   But it seemed a pretty small thing to worry about at the time, and a pretty petty decision not to refund.

[paul7575]

“A lawsuit alleged that customers with London Travelcards were not offered cheaper ‘boundary fare’ tickets when travelling inside London’s fare zones.”

I’d say that's not strictly accurate. The purpose of boundary zone fares is to allow people who already have a travelcard to extend their journey to a place outside the zones.

Can't be sure if that's copied from a misleading source or the journalist hadn't understood the explanation.

Paul

[ChrisB]

...from inside the fare zones.

[JayMac]

I may well have bought such a ticket or three at some point during the period in question but don't have any proof after all these years. I don't collect and catalogue my tickets, I may have paid cash, and I've changed banks more than once, so don't have statements from 2015-2017.

Is it enough of a reason to say I may have been mis-sold during that period and put in a claim for £30?

As for the lawsuit, I'm gladdened to read about the settlement, even of SSWT aren't admitting liability. The privatised train operators have taken far too many liberties, hiding behind a complex fares structure, that regularly overcharges the passenger. They've also misused the law and the Single Justice Procedure, when prosecuting fare 'evaders', many of whom would've been caught out by the aforementioned complex fare structure. So, zero sympathy for Stagecoach.

I wonder also if cases have been brought, or will be brought, against other operators who provide, or provided in the past, services where Boundary Zone fares should've been offered?

Edit note: I see from the claims website that cases have been brought against South Western Railway, Southeastern, and Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern (TSGN).